It has been the traditional practice to couple bodies by rigid beam members to carry both tension and compression loads. Only under special circumstances can tension members alone be utilized to carry all the necessary loads between bodies. Such an application is typically a pure suspension configuration serving only to carry gravity loads.
In many applications it would be preferable to eliminate rigid connecting members which serve as the tension and compression load-bearing members between bodies. It has heretofore not been possible to eliminate such rigid members when compressive strength is required along with tension strength. It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for interconnecting two bodies with tension members only, but carrying which both support and anchor the two bodies against tension and compressive forces acting between the two bodies.